The Puppy and the Kitten
by Serena
Summary: An unlikely pairing, but hey, anything can happen in fandom. This is a little fic of how the puppy found his kitten, and together they try to live for each other. Zack x Kadaj, Post AC, AU, Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **The Puppy and the Kitten

**Fandom: **FF7 AC

**Rating: **M for later chapters.

**Warnings : **PostAC, AU, Yaoi.

**Characters : **Zack x Kadaj. Most FF7 characters make their appearance.

**Summary: **An unlikely pairing, but hey, anything can happen in fandom. This is a little fic of how the puppy found his kitten, and together they try to live for each other.

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**v - εуλ 0009, early summer**

He tried so hard to keep himself from smiling _too _smugly. He swore he was literally _beaming _with pride. Any more, and his ethereal being would probably outshine the rising sun within seconds.

"Ha! He finally knows who's been saving his ass everytime he sticks it too deep into trouble!" He mentally did his own little victory jig.

"Oh lay off it already, won't you! He was just feeling a little awed from… a touch of divine intervention," came the soft reply. "MY intervention, don't you forget that!" the female voice added tersely.

A couple of faint wisps of mist swirled lightly, away from entrance to the ruined Church. Children's laughter and the sounds of splashing water echoed within.

"Aww, c'mon, let the guy have his day. I need some cheerin' up, babe, for all the hard work I've done."

He edged closer, until he could reach out and hold her from the back. He nuzzled her neck, while breathing in the warm scent of sunshine and summer blooms.

"You'll get no sympathy from me until and unless you finish your job. We've still got those three souls to deliver, in case you've forgotten."

He felt steady hands gently push him off. Damn, that ruined his mood. "'Tch! Why do I have to do it?"

"Just because. And no excuses, _because_ I'm sure I've already taught you well enough for the past few years," a hesitant pause, and then she continued, "I've got a date with the flowers. Three golden fields of them along the highway, waiting for my tender loving care." The last few words were intentionally emphasized and he thought he heard some birdsong in the background.

"Again?" He could imagine himself slumping in disappointment. Were it not for the way she had said it, he wouldn't have guessed what she had actually intended to do. He'd spent enough endless days and nights in existence to understand what was going on.

A finger pressed gently on his lips.

"No more questions. Now shoo, get to work, peasant."

He rolled his eyes and gave his trademark scowl tinged with sarcasm, "Yes, oh mighty Princess of the Promised Land."

With that, he obediently shuffled away, glee soon returning to his face as sunlight filtered from rapidly disappearing clouds, bathing his form with glorious golden hues. It was going to be a beautiful day.

Somewhere in the grasslands surrounding Midgar, wind chimes tinkled and bellflowers swayed lazily with the cool morning breeze.

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"Mother…?"

Silence. There was no reply._ Again_.

Alone.

Abandoned.

A sudden gust of cold wind sent shivers down his body, although he was sure he didn't have any of his senses, well.. how should he put it… intact. His universe has been, and had been for the past few hours (or was it days?) just green. Green, plain green, boring green, green of all tones and hues imaginable as far as he could see, touch and feel. Not that he had any fingers or even a hand to lift that sickly curtain of green wrapping around him a little too close for comfort.

Kadaj cursed the green and instinctively curled himself into a ball, hoping to keep himself warmth if he wasn't already frozen over by the onslaught of more chilling winds. He mentally chant to himself that green was the cause of his misery. He swore that he would set fire to every house, building and even to the last blade of grass – anything that's green. Especially vegetables. He hated them anyway, and yes, before anyone asked, Loz sucked at cooking too. He WILL burn all the vegetables to ashes the next time he's allowed to touch the stove. Kadaj also made a promise to himself to colour all his healing materia black, and even put on coloured contact lenses, if he ever has the chance to do so.

He winced inwardly. Memories of the living world surfaced at the wrong time, and he felt a little more despair than before.

"Mother…!" he called out one more time desperately, unaware that he was on a verge of crying.

"WHOA! Sorry I'm late, kid!"

Kadaj yelped and jerked, shocked at hearing another voice in the Lifestream.

He whirled around, stunned to see another soul in this desolate place, although he didn't recognize the person. Black spiky hair nearly reaching the broad shoulders, glowing indigo-blue eyes shining brightly against the background of green, and a very wide grin plastered on his face. The last detail was disconcerting to Kadaj, who was used to all things gloomy and black. But at least this newcomer wasn't _green_, and that made it a hell lot better for Kadaj.

The man definitely looked older than Kadaj and he guessed him to be in his early twenties. The man wore a rather familiar-looking sleeveless blue uniform which Kadaj had seen in some old, faded posters that still clung to many fallen walls in the Midgar ruins, that rudely screamed of "Uncle Shinra wants you! Join SOLDIER today!". Kadaj never really understood why they advertised an overtly plump regal-looking President up front with a line of well-muscled SOLDIERs posing in a variety of rather disturbing mannerisms at the back. But that's really besides the point, because…

"You're not.. Mother," Kadaj stated, mouth still agape and Mako-green eyes staring up in confusion.

The other man rolled his eyes (again) and gave an indignitant snort. "_Obviousl_y."

Kadaj watched as the other man looked around. He seemed to be searching frantically, and it became obvious that there was absolutely no trace of whatever he had in mind.

"Where are the other two?"

Kadaj wasn't the sort of person with much patience nor tolerance for incompetence to begin with. He shrugged and answered with a subtle snarl, "They're not here… _obviousl_y." Kadaj took a little satisfaction in stressing that last word.

The other man glared at him with a hint of annoyance, but then with a muttered curse, he looked away and started scratching the back of his head, probably lost as to what to do next.

"Holy hell! Tonberry Knives up my ass, where could they have gone?!" he groaned, upset and angry at himself, and started pacing around restlessly. Kadaj coolly shrugged, snickering at the disturbing mental image.

Kadaj's little moment of self-indulgence was shaken when he heard a loud, obnoxious _shrilly_ (however impossible that maybe, but yes, the damage had been done), "AERIS!! We've got a SI-TU-A-TION here!". Each deliberate syllable echoed off all 360-degrees of invisible walls of Lifestream, and Kadaj had to cover his imaginary ears because it was very, very painful, and that sent shudders down his spine. Running Souba down a blackboard – which was worse than using your own fingers, really – couldn't even match the intensity of the deafening pandemonium.

"Let's go, kid! I've got a schedule to run, and you're coming along!" Kadaj bristled at being called a _kid _for the second time. Before he could pout or strangle the other person – whichever would be perfectly fine, anyway – the older man hurriedly grabbed what Kadaj thought was his own arm and hauled him up. Kadaj _squeaked_ (oh the _horror_), surprised. Well, he hadn't actually thought of _standing_ since he couldn't even visualize his legs, let alone his own body. Unlike the other man, that lucky bastard with such a, hmm, nicely-muscled build, and hmm.. now that he noticed it, hmm.. the exposed, tanned arms and the tight-looking biceps just underneath those shoulder pauldrons.

He felt himself being lifted. Ah, so he could actually _stand_. Oh _joy_. He wondered why he was moping around the Lifestream floor for the past few hours (days, he started to believe). He pictured an imaginary mallet striking his head in a moment of self-punishment for his own incompetence.

Then there was the sickening sound of a crack. No, no, that mallet was NOT part of it. And his head was just fine and dandy.

Next, a splintering sound. Something gave way underneath where Kadaj stood.

The older man tightened his grip on Kadaj's arm reflexively and he was dragged along downwards with Kadaj's weight. "What the—?!" he shouted, caught surprised.

Kadaj watched helplessly in horror as he felt himself free-falling, faster and further down, spiraling and spinning into impossible depths. His vision darkened and blurred, fear and nausea welled up from inside, maddening green rushing past him, through him and knocking out his breath all at the same time. The other man kept holding on, fear and terror painfully clear on his face, and together, they went down.

Kadaj thought he caught a glimpse of a female's hand reaching out from above him, but he was sinking too fast, and he was fast fading away.

"Mother…?!" he cried out.

"ZAAAAAAAACK!!" he heard a female voice scream, but Kadaj was already lost in the murky darkness.

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Cloud nearly skidded Fenrir off the highway, but thank goodness he didn't tumble unceremoniously off the path and made a complete wreck of his newly fixed-up bike. He pulled to an abrupt stop by the side and stared at the distant horizon.

Miles and miles of golden summer blooms and green grasslands, stretching as far as the eye could see.

He thought he saw a flash of pink among the flower fields just a few heartbeats ago.

"No.. it couldn't be," he murmured when he was certain that there wasn't anyone else in the area.

A thought occurred to him.

Deciding to follow his gut feeling, he turned Fenrir around and revved up the engine, speeding off towards the direction from whence he came.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **The Puppy and the Kitten

**Fandom: **FF7 AC

**Rating: **M for later chapters.

**Warnings : **PostAC, AU, Yaoi.

**Characters : **Zack x Kadaj. Most FF7 characters make their appearance.

**Summary: **An unlikely pairing, but hey, anything can happen in fandom. This is a little fic of how the puppy found his kitten, and together they try to live for each other.

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_Purr.._

_Purrrr…_

He was drifting in contentment, blissfully wrapped in warmth and the scent of musk and morning dew. Soft, sun-warmed fabric rustled softly beneath him, and he indulged himself in caressing and rubbing his fingers against the material.

Strange, he didn't recall having any comfortable blankets on his side of the bed. Yazoo always managed to wrestle the whole thing off and bundle it tightly around himself before dawn, leaving a shivering Kadaj behind.

Kadaj frowned when he realized that there was soft, rhythmic thump-thumping of heartbeat against his cheeks. Was he sleeping on Yazoo? While he didn't mind making a pillow out from his sibling, it did disturb him that Yazoo seemed to have grown a broader and more muscled chest than before. Strange, indeed. How dare Yazoo undergo another growth spurt without waiting for Kadaj.. again!

And then, there was a whiff of something… _floral_, and he unconsciously scrunched up his face. Little pieces of unfamiliar information gradually filtered through his sleep-hazed mind. Loz hated flowers because pollen made his nose itch like hell. And what would a morning be without Loz cooking up a storm in the kitchen? Breakfast usually meant the characteristic clangs of pots and pans (and the occasional whiny "ow, I burnt my fingers"), the bitter smell of toast turning to cinder, and Yazoo's incessant high-pitched complaining about falling food hygiene standards and why they really need someone who could prepare a decent meal, like…

"… Mother?"

There was a low, throaty moan in response, and Kadaj's eyes _flew open_. A blur of dark blue, a dizzying sensation of tilting sideways, a very audible splash, followed by his terrified _squeaks_ (oh the _shame_) as he felt icy-cold wetness surrounding his _naked_ (shockingly _embarrassing_!) body and up his neck.

Drowning, oh Shiva on a stick, he was drowning!

Lightning-quick reflexes kicked in, and he instinctively flailed his arms and legs, screaming hoarsely for his dear life, and scrambling on all fours when he thought he felt solid ground underneath his bare feet. Within seconds, he found himself huddled at the edge of what seemed to be a pool in the middle of a building with wooden floor. Panting hard, adrenaline surging in his veins, senses fully alert, hair raised in panic, Kadaj stared dumbfoundedly at the sight before him.

He didn't doubt that he was in a church. The stained glass windows rising up to the high ceilings, massive concrete pillars and aged wooden pews lining the sides, and the few recognizable holy statues and relics in the corners didn't betray his first guess. Bright shafts of sunbeam illuminated the interior in natural white and various shades of red, yellow, green and blue from the coloured windows. The only sounds were his own gasping, his racing heartbeat, and the choking, deafening _silence_ that permeated the air.

And right smack in the middle was _that man_, in his navy blue SOLDIER uniform and soaked from head to toe just like Kadaj, standing in the center of what seemed to be a large, collapsed section of the church floor filled with clear water.

Ah, so the pool was only _waist-deep_. And he made a complete fool of himself shrieking like a frightened kitten in a _small_ pool of water. Oh the _shame_, the shame. Kadaj could only groan in contempt at his own stupidity.

Kadaj took a few moments to catch his breath and recover from the initial shock. The other man stared back (those glowing Mako blue eyes seemed to _burn_ right into him, Kadaj thought), before he started to wade to one of the edges of the pool while scratching the back of his head (no doubt, still at loss of what to do next). He climbed up from the pool and started looking around.

Kadaj admired the scene from a safe distance, noting how the dripping blue uniform clung onto the other man's body, revealing a well-built torso – and as his cat-like eyes traced further below – oh, that sensuous curve of a tight ass. Deep inside, Kadaj chuckled at what Yazoo would have _died_ to see. That insane, pervy brother of his would never pass up a chance to oogle at hot wet male bodies on magazines, what more of _this_…

Apparently, Kadaj must have been lulled into a daze sometime between the voyeuristic sightseeing (with a silly grin plastered on his face) and the soothing calm surrounding the church, because the next thing he knew, he was smothered by some kind of thick wooly material. The other man's strong fingers rubbed the towel roughly against Kadaj's tormented head, and he swore that he'd lost a few strands of precious silvery hair in the process.

"Stop that, you bastard! Or I'll have Mo—" he yelped, his anger cut off by another sharp tug on his hair.

"Don't 'Mother' me, young man. I've had enough about that from you!" the man berated him with a hint of mischief in his eyes. The towel moved down to Kadaj's shoulders and his _naked_ back (oh the _humiliation!_), those nasty strong fingers scrubbing and pressing violently, and leaving faint pink marks in its wake, while the man dried off himself with another piece of cloth. There was a lot of grunting and cursing involved along the way. Kadaj struggled, but surprisingly, the other man was _amazingly _strong and managed to hold him down with just one arm.

A good deal of drying done, the black-haired man squatted next to Kadaj, who was sniffling a bit from the abusive treatment from the now-dreaded towel.

"So.. Kadaj, isn't it?" It sounded more like an accusing statement than a question.

Kadaj resisted the astounding urge to cry, which had welled up for some inexplicable reason. He blamed it on the sores and bruises that would probably, in good time, appear on his pale, unmarred skin.

"Name's Zack." Kadaj stared at an open palm, a friendly gesture which he viewed with utmost suspicion. Kadaj fell silent and focused his infamous, most heated, evil glare at the black-haired man's face.

Zack's dark eyebrows raised at the lame attempt to intimidate him, and resigned to just shrugging his shoulders tiredly, deciding not to go further than basic introductions. Towels and cloth thrown on the floor, he got up and murmured, "Man, I've gotta figure out what the hell happened and how to get back there. But first…"

Kadaj was slightly bemused at Zack's never-ending quest in _search_ for something. The older man went around digging through a few dusty old cabinets, rummaging through tables and drawers, rattled and kicked open old chests and crates which, in the inherent nature of any FF7 game, were found scattered throughout the building (or _any_ building, for that matter). Like a dog looking for his bone, Kadaj thought with a snicker. He refused to move, partly because he didn't want to associate himself with that strange man, but also because he was _naked_ anyway except for the wooly towel which he gratefully wrapped around his waist, and he really didn't want to strut around like _that_. Yazoo might, but no, not Kadaj.

"Wonders never cease to amaze me. I can't believe these still exist!" Zack called out from another hall inside the church. Kadaj nonchalantly sighed, looking bored, and pretended that watching dust motes floating in patches of sunlight were more entertaining than anything else.

"Hmm. It's a little big and smells a little old and musty, though don't complain…" Zack's voice was gleeful, and was fast approaching Kadaj. The silver-haired boy continued to ignore him, preferring to pick some bits of dirt from his fingernails instead..

In the next heartbeat, there was a girly shriek, a flurry of arms and legs kicking, bodies wrestling each other and finally, the damn _thing_ slipped in nicely and comfortably.

"Looks good on you," Zack said smugly as he stood a couple of feet away, one hand on his chin and the other on his hip, Mako-blue eyes watching intently to gauge the result of his handiwork.

Kadaj was panting hard, trying to catch his breath from that struggle. He looked down at himself, now properly dressed in a SOLDIER uniform without the pauldrons, straps and belts. It was a simple attire, really. Just the navy blue sleeveless top, the matching baggy pants, and a pair of brown military boots.

Well, Kadaj didn't really like the pants because he was so used to skin-tight leather, and it felt like breezy air was whipping his ass every time he tried to move. But no matter, at least he wasn't naked anymore.

A loud rumble echoed from a distance. The sound was unmistakably that of a motorcycle engine. Kadaj instantly tensed, but Zack was much smarter than that.

He simply leapt forward, grabbed one of Kadaj's arm, much like what he did earlier that day, and dragged the surprised silver-haired boy further into the old, crumbling church.


End file.
